Top storylines for the 2014 Seattle Sounders season

The Seattle Sounders kick off the MLS season Saturday at CenturyLink field against defending champion Sporting Kansas City. And there are plenty of storylines to look at as they get underway.

As usual, the initial expectations are high for a roster that has some big names but has also experienced a fair share of turnover, making it difficult to predict exactly how good this team will be. A postseason appearance is certainly expected, but merely making the playoffs is not considered the over-arching goal. If Seattle's newly acquired players can gel with the pieces that are already in place, a deep postseason run will soon be on the mind of many fans of the club.

Whether or not this materializes, however, is dependent on several factors. Scroll through our slideshow to see the most important storylines that the Sounders face as their much-anticipated 2014 season gets going.

Seattle made one of the biggest soccer-related splashes that the U.S. has ever seen last season when they signed superstar forward/midfielder Clint Dempsey, who is widely considered to be the top American player in the world. Dempsey has established credibility on the international stage, scoring 50 goals in 184 appearances for Fulham from 2007-12 and making 29 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur before his move to the Sounders. Tottenham is regularly one of the most competitive clubs in the English Premiere League, meaning Dempsey has played and excelled at the highest level of soccer that the world has to offer.

Dempsey’s arrival in August was met with a great deal of hype and fanfare, but injuries and generally lackluster play by the Sounders as a whole tempered some of that excitement. He wasn’t actively bad, but he scored just one goal for the Sounders and did not elevate the performance of the squad to the extent many expected. However, it’s important to note he was slowed by injuries and the task of trying to acclimate to a new team.

This season, Dempsey ostensibly is healthy and seemingly primed to fully integrate. His experience playing overseas would seem to indicate that he should be able to excel playing against MLS competition. Although an improved Demspey seems like it should be a foregone conclusion, his recent mediocre play during a loan to Fulham and for the US National Team is sure to have some fans worried that this signing will end up being a bust.

The front office was active during the offseason and the Sounders enter 2014 with a different look than last year. There are several new faces to keep an eye on that will have a great deal of impact on the performance of the team.

One high-impact change comes at goalkeeper. Seattle parted ways with Michael Gspurning and brought in former Toronto FC prospect Stefan Frei. The 27-year-old Swede is unquestionably talented but is also coming off a major knee injury, meaning that it’s still debatable as to whether he’s a better option than Gspurning.

Another key new face figures to be forward Kenny Cooper, whom Seattle acquired in a December trade with FC Dallas. The 29-year-old is an MLS veteran, having scored 72 goals and accumulating 16 assists in 188 career appearances. Seattle coach Sigi Schmid can only hope that Cooper’s 6-3, 210 pound frame can cause match-up problems for opposing defenses.

Dempsey isn’t the only star with international credibility on the Seattle roster, with forward Obafemi Martins set to begin his second tour in the MLS. Martins scored 8 goals in 20 appearances for the Sounders last season after coming over from the Spanish club Levante. Martins previously played a stint in the EPL for Newcastle United from 2006-2009 and for the German club Wolfsburg in 2010. He’s also scored 17 goals in 32 appearances for the Nigerian national team.

The tandem of Martins and Dempsey seems to have the makings of a potent offensive attack, assuming both players live up to their reputations as internationally competitive stars. This has seemed to come to fruition so far in the preseason, with Martins notching 3 goals. If this can become a recurring theme throughout the year, Seattle should be able to boast a strong offense.

This season can probably be considered a make-or-break year for Sounders coach Sigi Schmid. The team has not lived up to expectations the last couple of seasons, and the big spending and high hype aren’t for show. This is a team that is expected to be at the top of the Western Conference throughout the season and make a run into the playoffs.

The team experienced a hefty nosedive during the last 10 matches of the 2013 season (including the playoffs), notching only one win during that time span. For Schmid to stay in Seattle, the Sounders will have to be a consistent force and not the uneven, unpredictable squad that has shown up too often over the last couple of years. Otherwise, Schmid’s time at the helm could be finished.

The Sounders’ roster features a couple of notable departures that will contribute to the changing dynamic of the squad.

The trade of star striker Eddie Johnson to D.C. United was a divisive move, considering that the 29-year-old national-team vet was statistically the top goal scoring option on the team, despite some occasional erratic behavior. His 29 total goals over the past two seasons were easily the most out of any Seattle player, and his 14 goals in 2012 were a franchise record. But a contract dispute sealed his fate in Seattle and Johnson will now take his game to that other Washington. If Seattle struggles offensively during the season, the decision to let him go is sure to be questioned. However, if Dempsey and the rest of the Seattle offensive attack can perform at an elite level, Johnson’s absence would be offset.

Midfielders Mauro Rosales and Steve Zakuani are other notable names who are no longer Sounders. Rosales was a fan favorite and former team captain, but his production waned last season. At 33, the team decided that a younger direction would be the best move tactically going forward, trading Rosales to Chivas USA. Zakuani was hampered by a sports hernia last season and now will suit up for the Portland Timbers, Seattle’s heated rival. Only time will tell if these moves are going to be validated, but until then they are sure to be scrutinized, particularly if the team gets off to a slow start.

There was a time when the Sounders were arguably the darlings of the Seattle sports scene, with the Mariners stuck in perpetual mediocrity and the Seahawks still warming up for their eventual championship run. Times have changed.

With the Seahawks' dominant, Super Bowl winning season in 2013, they have become the undeniable hot ticket not just in Seattle, but arguably in all of professional sports. The 12th Man fanbase has also become synonymous with the team and the city.

The Sounders are noted for their rabidly dedicated, rowdy fans as well, but they haven’t played since Seahawks fever reached full capacity. Attendance numbers are sure to be good, but will the buzz persist at the same rate that it has in the past? At the moment, Seattle sure seems like a football town -- just how much is it a fútbol town?

The true dedication of the fan base will be put to the test, particularly if the team doesn’t dominate the MLS in the way that the Seahawks were able to dominate the NFL. The Sounders boast one of the most dedicated soccer fanbases in America and it’s doubtful that an underachieving squad on the field will change all that much. But it will nonetheless be interesting to see if the hype surrounding the franchise will continue to the degree that it has in past seasons, particularly in the wake of Seattle’s first championship in decades.

The Seattle defense probably has to be considered the team’s biggest question mark as the season opener approaches.Goalkeeper Frei is not an established commodity, and whether or not Marshall can perform at a consistently elite level has yet to be determined. Jalil Anibaba is another new face that is competing for a starting job. Djimi Traore and Zach Scott -- both MLS veterans -- and rookie Damion Lowe are also in the mix for playing time at center back. With the talent level that the team appears to possess on offense, their ability to keep other teams from scoring figures to be the key factor in determining how far they will go.

The three-way rivalry among Seattle, Portland and Vancouver has developed into arguably the most intriguing and contentious rivalry in American soccer. With the Timbers and Whitecaps both figuring to trot out strong, playoff-caliber squads this season, the battle for Northwest superiority seems primed to be as entertaining as ever during the 2014 season.

Last season saw Vancouver take home the cup for the first time since 2008, meaning that both Seattle and Portland are sure to be hungry to take it back. The first Cascadia Cup showdown for Seattle happens April 5, when the Sounders travel to Portland to take on the Timbers.

The Sounders obviously want to maintain the high level of fan interest that they possess, particularly for an MLS franchise. The team is an interesting puzzle, possessing some undeniable star talent but as of yet unable to make a sustained playoff run with the pieces they have in place. The influx of newcomers and turnover on the roster makes the success of the team even trickier to project.

Dempsey and Martins are sure to garner the most headlines as the team’s most recognizable faces and top goal-scoring options. But as is the case with any team in any sport, the performance of the complimentary pieces will ultimately be the deciding factor. Make no mistake about it, though: This team is expected to contend and make noise in the postseason. Anything short of that will manifest even more question marks for a franchise that has been very good, but quite not championship-caliber.